The silence after the call felt suffocating.
Nicole stood motionless near the windows, phone still in her hand, Manhattan glowing behind her in fractured reflections of gold and storm-gray light.
Vivian's voice lingered in the room long after the line disconnected.
To lose control of something you actually care about.
Not a threat.
A confirmation.
And that was what unsettled Nicole most.
Vivian never said things she couldn't prove.
Blair was the first to speak. "Okay… I officially hate her."
Nicole didn't answer.
Because her mind was already moving too fast.
Vivian knew about Chase.
Not suspected.
Knew.
Which meant surveillance inside the penthouse hadn't been recent.
It had been ongoing.
Weeks, maybe longer.
And suddenly every private moment replayed sharply in Nicole's mind—every argument with Chase, every look that lingered too long, every second her defenses slipped without her realizing someone else was watching.
Violation settled cold beneath her skin.
Chase stepped closer carefully. "Nicole."
She looked up slowly.
"You need to disappear for a few days," she said immediately.
Chase almost looked offended. "We're not doing this again."
"This isn't negotiable."
"Neither is abandoning you."
Nicole's jaw tightened instantly. "You are no longer part of this strategically."
"That's not true."
"It is now."
Blair looked between them anxiously. "Maybe she has a point."
Chase turned toward her. "You too?"
"I'm just saying the evil corporate mastermind lady literally threatened him specifically."
Nicole crossed her arms tightly. "Vivian uses leverage."
"And you think I'm leverage."
"I know you are."
The honesty of it landed hard.
Not insulting.
Worse.
Personal.
Because Nicole wasn't dismissing him anymore.
She was afraid for him.
Chase saw it clearly now.
So did Blair.
Nicole looked away before either could say it aloud.
"I'll handle Vivian."
Chase stepped closer. "Stop talking like you're alone in this."
"I am alone in this."
"No," he said firmly. "You decided that years ago. That doesn't make it true."
The words struck deeper than he intended.
Nicole's eyes flashed sharply. "You have no idea what Vivian is capable of."
"Then tell me."
Silence.
Nicole hated this part.
The explaining.
The exposing.
Because talking about Vivian meant talking about herself too.
And Nicole Ritter had spent years carefully avoiding that.
Blair softened slightly. "Nikki…"
Nicole exhaled slowly through her nose.
Then finally spoke.
"Vivian wasn't just a business partner."
The room quieted instantly.
Chase stayed completely still.
Nicole's gaze drifted toward the city again.
"She understood how I think," Nicole said quietly. "How I build pressure. How I negotiate. How I manipulate outcomes."
"She learned from you," Chase said.
"No," Nicole corrected softly.
"We learned from each other."
That explained enough.
Not romance.
Something more dangerous.
Mutual ambition.
Mutual obsession with power.
Two women who once built empires side by side before trying to destroy each other.
Blair blinked slowly. "Wow. Your relationships are genuinely terrifying."
Nicole ignored that.
Mostly because it was accurate.
"She'll keep escalating now," Nicole continued. "That's how Vivian works. Once she finds emotional leverage, she keeps applying pressure until the person breaks."
Chase held her gaze steadily. "And you think that'll happen to you?"
"No."
But this time—
the answer came a second too late.
And Chase noticed.
So did she.
Before anyone could speak again, one of the security monitors near the wall suddenly flashed red.
Nicole turned instantly.
Incoming breach alert.
Her expression hardened immediately.
"What now?" Blair asked nervously.
Nicole moved quickly to the console.
Then froze.
Chase stepped beside her. "What is it?"
Nicole stared at the screen another second before answering.
"It's Meredith."
The camera feed showed Meredith entering Ritter Global headquarters underground parking—
alone.
Two black SUVs pulling in behind her.
Too fast.
Too coordinated.
Nicole's stomach dropped instantly.
"Something's wrong," Chase said.
"Yes."
Onscreen, Meredith looked up suddenly, noticing the vehicles.
Then the feed cut to static.
Blair's face went pale. "Oh my God."
Nicole was already moving.
Fast.
Focused.
Deadly calm.
Chase caught her arm before she reached the door. "Wait."
"She's in danger."
"And this could be exactly what Vivian wants."
Nicole looked at him sharply. "I don't care."
That answer told him everything.
Because Nicole only abandoned strategy for people she truly valued.
"Then we go together," he said immediately.
"No."
"Yes."
"You are not walking into this."
Chase stepped directly in front of her now. "Stop trying to protect everyone by yourself."
Nicole's voice lowered dangerously. "Move."
"No."
The tension between them tightened instantly.
Blair looked genuinely stressed now. "Maybe this is not the moment for whatever emotional standoff this is."
Neither listened.
Nicole stared at Chase, frustration and fear colliding violently beneath her controlled exterior.
"You don't understand," she said quietly.
"Then make me understand."
"She will use you against me."
Chase didn't hesitate.
"Then let her try."
The answer hit harder than it should have.
Nicole hated that.
Hated even more that part of her suddenly wanted to believe him.
Chase's expression softened slightly. "Nicole…"
The way he said her name nearly broke something inside her.
Too gentle.
Too certain.
Too safe.
And Nicole Ritter had never trusted safe things because safe things were the first to disappear.
But Chase stayed.
Again and again—
he stayed.
The realization weakened her defenses another inch.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Blair suddenly pointed toward the screen. "Wait!"
The static feed flickered back briefly.
Meredith appeared again—
running.
A man grabbing her arm near the elevator access.
Then—
another figure stepped into frame and hit the attacker hard enough to throw him backward.
The footage blurred violently.
Nicole narrowed her eyes.
"Who is that?"
The second figure turned briefly toward the camera before the feed cut again.
Chase stared at the frozen frame.
Then frowned.
"I know him."
Nicole looked at him immediately. "Who."
Chase's expression darkened slowly.
"That's Greg."